hurricanemk1c

Morning all,

A selection of photos from Saturday's RPSI "Western Explorer" trip. Having boarded at Athlone, a great trip was had and thanks to all of the RPSI volunteers and Iarnród Éireann staff who made the day happen. As always, click on the photos to view them full size

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Regards,

Kieran

Reminds me of the Serpell report in the UK in the 1980s. That really worked out!

"The review was compiled by the National Transport Authority and Iarnród Éireann to examine possible solutions for the financial sustainability of the State-owned rail operator.". Begging bowl out - if you don't fund us we will close

Evening all,

A few photos from Booterstown Nature Reserve on Thursday. Having finished lectures at 1100 and did a bit extra, I left college at 1215 with the intention of going out for the IWT liner and DFDS/Timber services. However whilst walking down, I randomly decided to head south, in the hope of getting the driver training runs with the Cravens that have been operating this week. It was only when I got home that I realised it had been cancelled! Still, useful information for next time. As always, click on any of the photos below to view them all

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Regards,

Kieran

Evening all,

The last full Belmond tour ran last week, concluding on Monday morning with the 0800 Muine Bheag - Heuston. As I wasn't in college a lot that day due to the way an assignment was arranged, I was able to have a look at the shunt operation at Heuston. As always, click on any of the photos below to view them full size with details

Having got home, had lunch and gone back out again to play badminton, I decided to kill an hour at Portarlington, with fruitful results. Due to a failure on the Sunday, 22043 was stabled in the Down Yard at Portarlington awaiting a driver to return to Laois Traincare Depot. This is the first time any passenger stock has gone into the yard since it was relaid into the current format

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Regards,

Kieran

I see one big issue there - sat nav companies will have to pay to access the data

Evening all,

An update from Stradbally to start off the evening's updates.

On Saturday 15 October, the new shed was officially opened by Ann Goodwin (CEO of Laois Partnership), Cllr Tom Mulhall (Chairman of Laois County Council) and Ken Grahm (President of the Irish Steam Preservation Society), with several volunteers and around 60 guests present. For a full review on the day's activities, see https://irishnarrowgaugerailwayspot.wordpress.com/2016/10/16/stradbally-shed-official-opening-15102016/. As always, click on any of the photos to view them full size and in the best quality

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Regards,

Kieran

Morning all,

An update from the past week

Photos from the Stradbally Steam Museum, with Guinness engine 15 and a coach

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A few photos from Heuston on Monday morning...

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...and Wednesday afternoon, with a couple of CIE containers thrown in from when they did door-to-door transport

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And finally shots from Heuston and Portarlington area on Thursday

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Regards,

Kieran

Morning all,

A few photos from the begininning of the week, with shots from Heuston, Portarlington, Portlaoise and Inchicore to start with:

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Photos from Wednesday with the 1825 Portlaoise - Heuston formed of Mark 4 set 4001:

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And finally photos from Thursday, where the main event was 071 hauling Belmond Mark 3 7122 from North Wall to Inchicore. Photos also include a wander around Portarlington and freight at Monasterevin and Kildare

Regards,

Kieran

Morning all,

A few updates from me. As always, click on any of the photos to view them full size

Firstly photos from a training day at Stradbally, where we were using the diesel loco 'Rusty' rather than the normal LM44. This gave me the oppourtunity to take a few different photos of the place

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Photos from Monday showing the Belmond Grand Hibernian arriving into Heuston

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And finally shots from Thursday, with a morning stop-off at Monasterevin, followed by a crawl home with stops at Kildare (for the DFDS Liner) and the Ploughing Specials

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Regards,

Kieran

Evening all,

A triple update from me tonight, featuring this week's movements. As always, click on any of the shots of links to see them full size

Photos from Monday, when the Belmond service arrived back into Heuston after a successful second week of operation

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On Wednesday, I had a brief stop over in Kildare

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And finally, the big event

22027 failed in Rosslare Europort on Saturday 10th September before departure of the 1755 to Connolly. Despite best efforts, it was decided to drag the set to Laois Traincare Depot for rectification work. A move done in two parts, 084 is seen arriving into Hazelhatch with the failed set as the 0850 Inchicore - Laois Traincare Depot. This is the first time since 11 March 2014 (082+22014 from Inchicore to Laois Traincare Depot). Shots feature Inchicore, Hazelhatch, Sallins and Kildare, with normal traffic as well

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Regards,

Kieran

Some really nice shots there. Love the shallow DOF shot with the BGH loco in the back ground, and the five 201s in side profile at Inchicore.

Thanks Noel! Thought I'd try something different for the move

Evening all,

A selection of photos from a day out on the Heuston line for the Belmond Grand Hibernian and the Ballast Cleaning that has restarted on the Cork mainline. As always, click on any of the photos below to view them full size

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Regards,

Kieran

There's more to it than just the flag issues. 231/233 are fully equipped for Northern operation (bar MMI socket and screen, which is an oversight but there must be a reason somewhere). Thus they are more suited for Enterprise duties. The others (in this case, 215,217-226,229,232,234) do not have NIR safety equipment (such as AWS, TPWS, NIR Train Radio and isolation bars) and would require a secondman. With enough spare Enterprise locos, there's no need for them [the list] to go north and can have full logos.

Incicdently, 22036-22039 also have 'half' logos (just the wording)

Evening all,

Two updates from me from the start of the month. As always, click on the photos to view them full size

The first is shots from the 1st, with Cork driver Tom Ryan and DTE Kieran O'Sullivan in command of the Belmond trip

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And shots from Friday and Monday, covering the ingress and egress of people heading for Stradbally and the Electric Picnic music event, with a few PWD moves as well

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Regards,

Kieran

Aaarrrrrrggggghhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Me being STUPID! Getting them mixed up - both uninspiring halts.....!

Happens to all of us!

Where does it mention Docklands? Grand Canal Dock is south of Pearse (about half a mile)

So peak-time only, Monday to Friday and minor changes thereafter (a slight pain for me, finishing college at 1700 and the Limerick being advanced by 5 minutes)

John, from your comment, I take it the Maroon RPSI Generating Van has both Air Brakes and Vacuum Brakes! Is this correct?

Don't think 3173 is air braked fitted. Best would probably be through piped (although older photos of it in IE service don't support that). Then I doubt the RPSI van would be capable of providing enough juice for the on board services such as air-con

Loss of power was 216's issue

Evening all,

An update from me from the home turf, starting off with Heritage Week at Stradbally:

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Even though it was wet, it was worth a visit! The Belmond luxury touring train started ghost running on the 23rd, with the 1420 Heuston - Cork.

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Finally, an evening of shunting at Stradbally to arrange stock ready for P-Way work on Sunday

Album link - https://www.flickr.com/photos/hurricanemk1c/sets/72157673041667045

Regards,

Kieran

Evening all,

The other three updates from me whilst I was in the UK. As always, click on any of the photos below to view them full size

Starting off with a few shots from Wollaton Hall Industrial Museum, where relics of Nottingham Victoria station are

Link - https://www.flickr.com/photos/hurricanemk1c/albums/72157669555272214

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Next, a few Nottingham trams in Beeston whilst mainly bus spotting for the hour

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And finally, a selection of shots from a fruitful hour at Belper and passing by Toton depot

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Regards,

Kieran

Steamers can be more depending on what is needed to do (eg a new boiler is a good £100,000-150,000 as it has to be specially made, tested, certified. I heard recently a quote of €800 per tube)

Aaah, yes! that's good to see and hear.

Does anyone know how much it costs to get a loco or coach back on the rails in preservation? Obviously 134 may be in better shape than say a steamer but just a ballpark figure?

It really does depend on what you need to do, but for example a new set of batteries (always required!) can be easily €5000-6000 (a set of Deltic batteries costs £6000 in total).

Some restorations in the UK have cost upwards of £300,000. The only one I really know about is the Deltic Preservation Society's refurbishment of 55015 Tulyar, which has been a complete rebuild from frames up, with new sheeting and bogies. The air tank overhaul alone cost £3,474. Grease for the suspension, 100kg, was £480. A new set of bogies was an eye-watering £150,000!

Morning all,

I've been away in Nottingham for the past two weeks away from editing software, so just catching up on things. To start with, some late evening shots from Nottingham station whilst waiting for a friend to arrive in. Click on any of the photos below to view them full size with descriptons

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Regards,

Kieran

Morning all,

A few shots from around the Dublin area on Saturday, Sunday and Monday (24-26/7/16) that I've just got around to uploading. I was mainly there for the Bray Airshow but also managed a bit of gricing in between. Click on any of the photos below to view them all

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A few photos from Stradbally, where two of the three new diesels moved up from the Old Shed to the New Shed for basic servicing in preparation of a full refurbishment on Thursday 28/7/16

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And finally, shots of a pristine 224 on the 1100 Heuston - Cork / 1420 Cork - Heuston on Friday, 29th July

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Regards,

Kieran